Bob Woolmer's wife and two sons joined a host of former and current international cricket players on Wednesday to pay tribute to the Pakistan coach at a sombre memorial service in Cape Town.

Allan Donald, Gary Kirsten, Paul Adams and Nicky Boje, all former members of South Africa's Proteas, were among those who gathered to honour Woolmer, whose suspected murder during the World Cup in Jamaica last month has shaken the cricket world.

Solemn music filled the hall at the Wynberg Boys' High School where Woolmer had for long shared his cricket expertise.

An enlarged picture of Woolmer, who lived in the Cape Town area with his family, wife Gill and sons Dale and Russell, was pinned to the dais, bearing the words "He will never be forgotten."

Former South African cricket chief Ali Bacher and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf also attended the service along with some 300 people.

Adams, a South Africa test spin bowler, said Woolmer had played a vital role in taking the game to poor communities in and around Cape Town.

"He was very instrumental in going into disadvantaged areas and worked with a lot of players, myself included. He had a great passion for the game," Adams said.

Adams joined Bacher, who was at the helm of South African cricket during Woolmer's tenure as national coach, in saying that Woolmer's death might further motivate the South African team to win the World Cup.

"I'm sure the team is well motivated ... but I'm sure some of the players, particularly Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Herschelle Gibbs, who came through him ... I'm sure they have fond memories of Bob and will do everything possible to win this Cup.

"Not only for Bob but also for the people of South Africa," Bacher told Reuters.

Woolmer, 58, was found lifeless in his hotel room on March 18, one day after his team were eliminated from the World Cup in a shock defeat by Ireland.

He was pronounced dead in hospital later that day. Jamaican police are treating the death as a murder.

Woolmer's death has cast a pall on the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean amid speculation that it was linked to match-fixing.

Shortly after his death, bowler Donald called for the tournament to be called off and said Woolmer's death would leave a mark on the game for years.

The death has also sparked a media frenzy, with almost daily reports in newspapers worldwide publishing various claims about Woolmer's death, including that he was poisoned.

Woolmer's wife and family friends have dismissed speculation that his death was linked to criminal gangs involved in professional betting or match-fixing revelations that he intended to disclose in a coming book.

"His book on cricket coaching ... does not include the word 'match-fixing'. I know this because I've helped him with that book for the past eight years and I've read proofs," said Tim Noakes, a doctor and friend of the Woolmer family.

"The sole expose in that book is Bob's unique approach to cricket coaching," said Noakes, who described Woolmer as the "moral compass" of the sport.

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